Heat up drink sales with hot beverages after dinnerHeat up drink sales with hot beverages after dinner

“One of the great sales opportunities in a restaurant meal is to add a dollop of satisfaction at the end,” says Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark, a beverage consultancy in Santa Barbara, Calif.

And premium hot beverages — typically alcoholic, but not always — he adds, could be the post-meal pizzazz needed to boost long-static check averages in casual-dining operations.

“Consumers are bored and searching for different experiences,” he says. “And when you look at what’s going on with spirits and craft beers, it’s logical to think there’s an opportunity for hot after-dinner drinks.”

That opportunity will yield little, however, unless servers are trained to sell hot beverages and bartenders are given proper equipment to make them, he says.

“The r...